1. Technical Field
This application relates to a beverage bottling plant having a beverage bottle closing machine with a bearing system to guide a reciprocating shaft in the beverage bottle closing machine.
This application further relates to a bearing system for the bearing of a shaft with a bearing bushing or sleeve that can be introduced into a receptacle boring of a machine or sliding component, support bearing and similar components, whereby recesses are provided at least in the receptacle boring for the feed and discharge of media.
2. Background Information
In the food or beverage packaging industry, such as beverage bottling, it is very important to take steps to minimize the contamination of the food or beverage during the packaging process. For example, in the bottling of beverages, it is very important to keep the machinery of the beverage bottling plant as clean and free from contaminants as possible. During the bottling process, it is not uncommon for the amounts of the beverage being filled into the bottles to splash or foam or otherwise be deposited on the surfaces of the machinery. Such amounts of beverage can cause the machinery to become dirty or sticky and possibly result in the production of contaminants that could contaminate the beverage in the bottles, thereby rendering the beverage undesirable or even unsafe for consumption. In addition, naturally occurring amounts of dust and dirt in the beverage bottling plant environment can be deposited and accumulate on the beverage bottling plant machinery. Again, such dirt and dust can possibly result in the introduction of contaminants into the beverage during bottling.
Unfortunately, much of the machinery used in the food and beverage packaging industry is relatively large and complex, and therefore often difficult to clean and maintain in a clean state. It is therefore advantageous to utilize machinery and parts therefor that are relatively easy to clean.
In connection with this application, the term “shaft” is used to also mean axles, guide rods or similar elements that execute a linear and/or rotating movement relative to the bearing system that is associated with it. For purposes of simplification, only the term “shaft” will be used, although this choice of terminology is in no way intended to restrict the scope of this application.
Bearing systems of this type for the bearing of rotating shafts are used, for example, in plain hydrostatic bearings that are made of ceramic materials for machine tools, in particular grinding machines, lathes etc. with strict requirements in terms of running precision, running speed or damping characteristics. For example, a plain hydrostatic bearing for machine tools has a support bushing and a bearing bushing, which is realized in the form of a complex, ring-shaped ceramic body with an outside surface that faces the support bushing and an inside surface that faces a shaft or spindle, and said inside surface has at least three rounded cavities to hold contact, lubricant or cooling media (DE 103 32 390 A1).
DE 195 26 497 A1 discloses a combined axial-radial plain bearing with ceramic bearing surfaces. Between these bearing surfaces, a recess is provided for the formation of a hydrodynamic lubricant wedge.
The components that are made of ceramic material are primarily realized only in the form of almost flat molded components, and therefore, in spite of their enormous advantages, can be used only to a limited extent in the area of contact between rotating and static components. Moreover, their rigidity is significantly limited, in particular with reference to the inevitable vibrations or displacements.
DE 23 56 817 A1 discloses a radial plain bearing for a shaft that rotates in one direction with a plurality of lubricant transport grooves in the bearing boring that run in the peripheral direction of the bearing or at a right angle to it and are connected with pressure pouches in the part of the bearing that holds the shaft. The bearing part is sealed externally by means of conical nipples. A realization of this type is unsuitable for the through-transport of media for cleaning or sterilization applications, for example, which is neither provided nor necessary in the prior art described above.
In certain industrial sectors such as the food, pharmaceutical or beverage industries, for example, there are very stringent requirements in terms of the cleaning or sterilization of machines and their components. These requirements are specified in certain countries in the form of specific legal standards or are required for certain product certifications such as those issued by the FDA, for example. These requirements relate in particular to sterile and clean room machines, as well as to bottling and packing machines or portions of a cold aseptic bottling operation.